Literature Review
Firstly, and most importantly, you should always do an abstract last. An abstract is a short summary of your entire research paper, usually about a paragraph (200-350 words) long. The reason we write it last is because it is hard to summarize research that is not complete in the first place. Generally, an abstract will have seven parts, in this order:
The specific topic of your research
What’s already known about this question, what previous research has done or shown
The main reason(s) and the goals for your research—why is it important to address these questions? Are you, for example, examining a new topic? Are you filling a gap in previous research? Applying new methods to take a fresh look at existing ideas or data
Central questions or statements of the problem your research addresses
Your research and/or analytical methods
Your main findings, results, or arguments
The significance or implications of your findings or arguments
As you might notice, there is one section here that covers two of the necessary parts—that is ok! Sometimes they will bleed into each other, but as long as they are there, then you are on the right track.
Soft red winter (SRW) wheat has been traditionally used in the manufacture of cookie and cracker products in Latin America; however, in some years SRW has experienced a supply shortage due to poor planting and/or crop conditions. Therefore, the demand for soft white wheat (SWH) for such products is increasing in Latin American markets, but buyers have been uncertain as to appropriate SWH contract specifications as SWH functions differently from SRW in cracker products. The objective of this study was to identify the optimal grain protein level and flour specifications of SWH for saltine crackers. SWH blends of varying grain protein contents from 8.7% to 12.5% were used to make saltine crackers. Flour solvent retention capacity (SRC), gluten and dough characteristics, and cracker-baking performance were evaluated. The sodium carbonate SRC increased from 71.9% to 75.0%, sucrose SRC from 83.4% to 94.2%, and lactic acid SRC from 98.0% to 113.3% as SWH protein content increased from 8.7% to 12.5%. Dough concurrently became more extensible (L: 109.0–143.0 mm) and deformation energy (W: 91.5–133.5 (10−4 J)) increased with higher protein content, especially in the range of 10.5%–12.5%. Cracker stack height (6.65–7.10 cm), stack height-to-weight ratio (0.196–0.210), and texture (breaking force: 1,934.9–3,158.2 g) gradually increased with increasing protein levels. The flour lactic acid SRC and dough rheological parameters (measured by Farinograph, Alveograph, and GlutoPeak) were significantly correlated with the cracker stack height-to-weight ratio and texture. SWH of grain protein content of 10.5%–11.6% had intermediate lactic acid SRC and dough strength that produced saltine crackers with appropriate stack height (6.95–7.10 cm) and desirable texture (2,172.9–2,473.8 g). This research identified the SWH functionalities for saltine crackers and provided an initial starting point for Latin America and other buyers, millers, and bakers to better utilize SWH for cracker manufacturing.
Although you do it last, the abstract is a key section of the paper. It generally determines if the reader will continue to the rest of your research. Think of it like going to a book store and opening a book you have never read.
Normally, on the inside of the cover there is a short description of the story. This is there to help you decide whether or not you want to purchase the book or put it back.
Lets look at another example, this time for a humanities research paper.
The specific topic of your research
What’s already known about this question, what previous research has done or shown
The main reason(s) and the goals for your research—why is it important to address these questions? Are you, for example, examining a new topic? Are you filling a gap in previous research? Applying new methods to take a fresh look at existing ideas or data
Central questions or statements of the problem your research addresses
Your research and/or analytical methods
Your main findings, results, or arguments
The significance or implications of your findings or arguments
When you start writing an abstract, try labeling each section to make sure you have all he parts you need. Same goes for if you are using AI to help you write one—read through it and check off each of these parts!
The modernist period ushered forth numerous scientific and philosophical theories that had a notable influence on art, literature, psychology, and philosophy. Discoveries such as Einstein’s general theory of relativity inspired theologians, philosophers, and psychologists to focalize new concepts of self, identity, time, reality, and human experience. These shifts in contemporary human understanding developed in concurrence with increased global travel and intellectual exchange between Western and Eastern countries. As a result, writers, philosophers, and artists became more interested in Buddhism and other Eastern philosophical beliefs. Virginia Woolf, while being a self-proclaimed atheist, was deeply influenced by Eastern philosophy and well versed in contemporary scientific theories. Drawing on literary and biographical criticism of Virginia Woolf, I trace the intersections of Eastern philosophical beliefs and Western scientific theories through the stream of consciousness narration of Mrs. Dalloway by analyzing both what and how things are experienced by individual characters. In the novel, the integration of each character's stream of consciousness fabricates a dissonant medium in which singular moments in the present time are experienced through the minds of multiple characters, while they simultaneously navigate past spans of time within their individual narrative consciousness. Through the analysis of narrative form and narrative consciousness in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, it is possible to track the impact of Eastern philosophies and Western scientific theories in the novel’s exploration of external and internal perceptions of reality.